Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Gold by 3.8% in the first quarter, adding 6,668 shares and bringing its total holding to 180,921 shares worth about $46.0 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 83.65% of Royal Gold’s shares. Several other funds also recently boosted or initiated positions in the stock.
• Royal Gold shares were trading at $189.17, well below the 12-month high of $306.25, while the company continued paying a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, equal to a 1.0% yield.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 180,921 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,668 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Royal Gold worth $46,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RGLD. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Royal Gold by 52.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,671 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,928,000 after acquiring an additional 6,109 shares in the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,938,000. Plancorp LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 13,732 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,053,000 after purchasing an additional 5,646 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,024,000. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,916,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of RGLD stock opened at $189.17 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $212.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.68. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.75 and a 12-month high of $306.25. The company has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Gold's payout ratio is 22.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RGLD. Zacks Research raised Royal Gold from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Royal Gold from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Royal Gold from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $325.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.85, for a total transaction of $107,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,852,424.70. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

About Royal Gold

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company's portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.